General Pauls biography. “No one can defeat Russia”

The name of the German field marshal, who commanded the Wehrmacht army that capitulated at Stalingrad, is sometimes written and spoken with the prefix “von”. That is, it sounds like Friedrich von Paulus. But in fact this is not true. After all, this man was not an aristocrat from birth. And he got into high German society only thanks to a successful marriage. But first things first.

Failed lawyer

According to archival materials, on September 23, 1890, in the family of a modest accountant who worked in prison German city Kassel, a son was born. This was the biography of Friedrich Paulus, who was entirely determined by the historical collisions that befell his homeland.

Having graduated from a classical gymnasium, as befits a young man from a poor but quite decent family, and received a matriculation certificate, nineteen-year-old Friedrich entered the Faculty of Law at the University of Bavaria. However, having become convinced two years later that bothering his head with countless articles and paragraphs of laws was not his strong point, he left his studies. And with the rank of non-commissioned officer, he entered service in the infantry regiment, which bore the name of his namesake - Margrave Friedrich Wilhelm.

Happy marriage

Here he felt, as they say, “at ease.” With commendable zeal, he began to climb the rungs of the career ladder. His diligence was soon noticed and encouraged from time to time. But it is unlikely that the ambitious officer could reach those shining heights that he dreamed of, if not for a lucky chance - a chance sent by fate. Such a gift from heaven turned out to be his marriage to a Romanian aristocrat of German origin, Elena Constance Rosetti-Solescu, to whom Paulus was introduced through mutual acquaintances.

Frederick, who had learned the rude manners of the common people from childhood, acquired the luster of a secular man under her influence. And, most importantly, he was introduced by his young wife to high society, to which she belonged from birth. What made her, an aristocrat, fall in love with an unremarkable junior officer is the secret of a woman’s heart.

The path from captain to major general

First world war brought him neither fame nor sharp career ups. From the first days, when the horizon of Europe was clouded with gunpowder smoke, Friedrich Wilhelm Paulus, along with his regiment fighting in France, found himself in a combat zone. But the connections in the circles of high command, which the wife’s relatives had, did their job. And soon the nightmare of the front line gave way for him to relatively calm staff work. Paulus met the end of the war already wearing the captain's uniform.

IN post-war years When the Weimar Republic was established in Germany, Paulus Friedrich continued to serve in the army, not grabbing stars from the sky, but not missing the opportunity to receive a promotion on time. And he would have ended his career quietly and unnoticed, but 1933 came, which became a turning point in the fate of Germany. With Hitler's rise to power, the entire life of the country was put on a war footing. And conscientious servants, who also had patronage in high circles, sharply went uphill. Suffice it to say that by 1939 Paulus was already a major general.

Beginning of World War II

General Friedrich Paulus, heading the headquarters of the Tenth Army, spent the first two years of World War II in battles, first in Poland, and then in Belgium and the Netherlands. Since July 1940, he was included by Hitler in the group engaged in the development of the notorious “Plan Barbarossa”, and after the start of the attack on Soviet Union, made every effort to implement it.

For Paulus personally, 1942 began as successfully as possible. Nothing foreshadowed an imminent tragedy. Back in January, having received another promotion, he was appointed commander of the Sixth Army, which operated on the Eastern Front and successfully resisted powerful counterattacks of Soviet troops. For his military services, the Fuhrer awarded him the Knight's Cross, and the army he led, which had so successfully proven the “invincibility” of German weapons, was transferred to the southern sector of the front, where the grandiose battle for Stalingrad unfolded in September.

Stalingrad encirclement

However, the previously favorable Fortune this time turned away from her darling. Instead of a quick victory on the banks of the Volga, she prepared encirclement for his army, and for him personally - the end of a brilliant career. The situation in which the forces entrusted to him found themselves could only be described as absolutely hopeless. Friedrich Paulus, a man who enjoyed special confidence from Hitler, in radio conversations with Berlin tried to convince the Fuhrer to allow his army to leave Stalingrad and make a breakthrough to reunite with the main forces of the Wehrmacht.

But his arguments (very reasonable, from a military point of view) met with categorical objections. Hitler justified his ban on leaving combat positions by the fact that, according to his assurances, in the shortest possible time German aviation would establish an air bridge capable of providing the troops with everything necessary to contain the enemy.

Late promotion

In reality, his plans were not destined to come true. And attempts to establish an “air bridge” collapsed under the blows of Soviet aviation and air defense forces. In order to somehow maintain the morale of his general, Hitler in mid-January 1943 awarded Paulus the rank of field marshal and awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross for future services.

Meanwhile, along with such good news, Paulus receives from him an order to fight to the death, and at the same time a reminder that not a single German field marshal has ever surrendered. IN in this context this historical background meant nothing more than an urgent demand to commit suicide if it was not possible to resist the Soviet troops.

Apparently, this was the only time that Friedrich Paulus - Field Marshal and Hitler's confidant - dared to disobey an order. But, not wanting to see the death of the “last soldier,” much less put a bullet in his temple, on the frosty winter morning of January 31, 1943, he conveyed the news of surrender to the Soviet command.

Collapse of the Wehrmacht's Sixth Army

Since the main part of the Sixth Army entrusted to him still continued to resist, the front commander, Colonel General K.K. Rokossovsky, to whom Paulus was brought for interrogation, suggested that he issue an order for its complete surrender. This measure made it possible to avoid the senseless death of German soldiers and officers.

But Friedrich Paulus, whose photo from those years can be seen in the article, refused, citing the fact that by surrendering, he thereby deprived himself of the right to give any orders. And the question of the surrender of the army must be decided by the generals remaining in the ranks. From the chronicles of those days it is known that by February 2, 1943, the resistance of German troops was completely suppressed. And 91 thousand enemy soldiers and officers ended up in Soviet captivity. But the refusal to surrender in a timely manner entailed additional casualties.

Not wanting to inform their compatriots about the capture of such a large contingent of troops, the German government spread among the people a myth about the heroic death of the entire Sixth Army. According to the official version, all soldiers and officers, without exception, preferred death to shameful surrender. National mourning was declared. IN within three Germany mourned the dead for days.

The last tribute to the former ideology

As for the field marshal, who was buried by official propaganda, he and a group of generals and senior officers were taken to the NKVD transit camp located near Moscow. In those days, Paulus Friedrich had not yet lost faith in the final victory of German weapons. During interrogations, he sometimes broke into pathetic rhetoric, presenting himself as an unbending Social Democrat.

While in the Suzdal camp for senior German command personnel, he initiated an angry message addressed to members of the anti-Hitler alliance, created by captured Wehrmacht officers held in Krasnogorsk near Moscow. Paulus Friedrich accused his former comrades of betrayal and cowardice. However, a month later, he suddenly withdrew his signature from the appeal addressed to them.

Camp for senior command personnel

From Suzdal, where the German generals were kept together with their field marshal, in the summer of 1943 they were transferred to the village of Cherntsy, located 30 km from Ivanovo. Here, within the walls of a sanatorium, turned into a special NKVD camp, they were under heavy security. This measure was taken out of fear of the possible kidnapping of high-ranking prisoners.

According to contemporaries, the conditions of their detention resembled more like home rest than a place of confinement. All prisoners received food that was unavailable to most citizens of the country during wartime, and on holidays even beer was added to their diet. No one was forced to work. They filled their leisure time, which was in abundance, as best they could. Many, including Paulus Friedrich, were involved in compiling memoirs.

Recruitment of a captured field marshal

In the summer of 1944, the Soviet leadership came up with the idea of using Paulus as a propaganda tool aimed at German prisoners of war. For this purpose, he is transferred to one of the secret facilities near Moscow and systematic processing begins, which is personally monitored by L.P. Beria. At first he hesitated, and the transition to open cooperation with yesterday's opponents was not easy for him.

But, gradually broken by skillfully presented information about the defeat of the Germans at Kursk, the opening of the Second Front, total mobilization in Germany and other evidence of an imminent collapse, he began to give up. His persistence was finally broken by the news of the assassination attempt on Hitler, followed by the execution of the conspirators, among whom were people well known to him.

As an active anti-fascist

At the beginning of August 1944, Field Marshal of the Wehrmacht Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus openly began to cooperate with Soviet government. His first step was an appeal to all German prisoners of war, in which he declared the need to overthrow Hitler, end the war and establish democratic rule in Germany.

Following this, he joined the anti-fascist “Union of German Officers”, as well as an organization calling itself “Free Germany”. There is no way back for him. Realizing this, Paulus became one of the most active propagandists of the fight against Nazism. His speeches were broadcast on the radio in those days, and planes dropped leaflets signed by him with calls to go over to the enemy’s side onto the positions of German troops.

Repressed family

Surprisingly, Friedrich Paulus, whose family was in Germany, did not take into account the consequences that his activities could have for them. And they were not slow in making their impact. His wife, who did not want to renounce her husband (here it is, a woman’s heart!), and his grandson were sent under house arrest. The daughter and daughter-in-law were placed in the Dachau concentration camp, and the son (also a Wehrmacht officer) was imprisoned in the city of Kostritsa.

Epilogue

The former field marshal of the German army, due to circumstances, finally took the path of fighting the regime, which he once served faithfully. In February 1946, at the sessions of the Nuremberg court, as a witness for the prosecution, he hotly denounced his former comrades and colleagues, which earned himself forgiveness.

After Nuremberg, he again found himself in Moscow, where he also successfully avoided trial and lived until Stalin’s death. After that, returning to his homeland, he settled in the territory of the GDR. According to managers Communist Party Germany, for the rest of his life Paulus showed loyalty to the pro-Soviet regime established in the country. He died in contentment and comfort on February 1, 1957 from heart failure. It was the eve of the fourteenth anniversary of the surrender of his army at Stalingrad.

Just recently we celebrated the 75th anniversary of one of the most important battles of the Great Patriotic War- The Battle of Stalingrad, which took place from July 17, 1942 to February 2, 1943. Millions of people on both sides took part in this battle. The memory of the feat of Soviet soldiers at Stalingrad is carefully preserved in our country. He does a lot of work to preserve and promote heroic memory.

It was with his active participation that the multimedia exhibition #MYSTALINGRAD was opened, which began its work at the Museum of Military Uniforms of the RVIO, and later moved to the Victory Museum on Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow. As part of the all-Russian action “Lesson of Courage”, which started in February 2018, teachers used materials prepared by the scientific department of the Russian Military Education Society, and in a number of educational institutions of the country (in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Volgograd, Khanty-Mansiysk, Stavropol, Tambov and other cities) these The lessons were taught by RVIO staff. In addition, the Russian Military Historical Society organized and held a number of other events on Stalingrad topics.

Exhibition #MYSTALINGRAD

Today we will tell you about one page of history that is inextricably linked with the Battle of Stalingrad. This further fate Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus, commander of the 6th Army, which suffered complete collapse at the walls of Stalingrad.

General Paulus was promoted to field marshal shortly before being captured by Soviet soldiers. Hitler, giving him this title, hoped that there would be no capitulation, and field marshals, in his opinion, did not surrender. He really hoped that Paulus would commit suicide in this case. This did not happen, and you all probably know that on the morning of January 31, 1943, the Soviet command received a request from the field marshal to surrender. Before his capture, the last location of his headquarters was the building of the Stalingrad Central Department Store.

Captivity of Field Marshal F. Paulus

For the command of the Red Army, Paulus became a very important prisoner; it was assumed that he would take part in a big military-political game. At the time of his capture, the field marshal was very ill. Initially he was sent to the hospital, and later he ended up in the general’s camp in the Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery in Suzdal.

For a long time, Paulus adhered to National Socialist views. He considered the created pro-Soviet “Union of German Officers” to be high treason. His attitude towards Nazi ideas changed after the assassination attempt on Hitler. The conspirators were brutally dealt with, and among them were the field marshal’s friends. The letter that came from his wife was the last straw that changed his views. On August 8, 1944, Paulus addressed the German people on the radio. In it, he called for saving the country and renouncing Hitler. He personally signed anti-war leaflets. A few days later, Paulus joined the Union of German Officers, and later the National Committee of Free Germany.

The Nazis responded to his actions immediately: Paulus’s son, who fought at Stalingrad with the rank of captain, was sent to prison, and his wife and daughter were under house arrest.

With the end of the war his position did not change. Like many “Stalingrad” generals, he continued to remain in captivity. In 1946, Paulus went to Germany, where he took part in the Nuremberg trials. He acted as a witness. After that, he lived for several more years in the USSR, in Ilyinsky near Moscow (according to some sources, in Zagoryansky). The “personal prisoner” was engaged in self-education, read party literature, and prepared for speeches before Soviet generals. The field marshal had his own doctor, cook and adjutant. Relatives from Germany constantly sent him letters and parcels.

F. Paulus at the Nuremberg Trials

After Stalin's death, Paulus was allowed to leave for Berlin. When meeting with the leader of the GDR, W. Ulbricht, he assured the authorities that he would live only in East Germany. His place of residence was the city of Dresden. Paulus was assigned a car, an adjutant and the right to carry personal weapons. In 1954, the Military Historical Center was created, and Paulus headed it. At this time it began teaching activity: V High school to the barracks people's police (the future army of the GDR), he lectured on the art of war and made reports on the Battle of Stalingrad.

On February 1, 1957, Friedrich Paulus died. This happened on the eve of the 14th anniversary of the defeat of his army at Stalingrad. The field marshal's ashes were buried in Baden-Baden near the grave of his wife.

Friedrich Paulus received the rank of field marshal the day before he was captured. For the Soviet command, Paulus was a valuable trophy; they managed to “reforge” it and use it in geopolitics. The former field marshal and commander of the 6th SS Army, read Chekhov and praised the courage of Soviet soldiers...

Collapse

By the beginning of 1943, Paulus's 6th Army was a pitiful sight. On January 8, the Soviet command turned to Paulus with an ultimatum: if the marshal does not surrender by 10 o’clock next day, all surrounded Germans will be destroyed. Paulus did not react to the ultimatum.

Paulus's whereabouts still remained unknown, and there were rumors that he had managed to escape from the encirclement. On January 30, a radiogram was intercepted about the awarding of the rank of field marshal to Paulus. In the radiogram, Hitler unobtrusively hinted: “Not a single German field marshal has ever been captured.”

Finally, intelligence reported that German orders were coming from the Central Department Store building. That's where Paulus was found. "This is the end!" - said a dirty, haggard, stubble-covered old man, in whom it was difficult to guess Friedrich Paulus.

Disease

Paulus was terrible disease- rectal cancer, he was closely monitored and given proper care. Paulus was taken to the hospital incognito.

The German general was a pitiful sight: exhausted, earthy color his face was always gloomy and sometimes overgrown with coarse stubble. He was prescribed a diet: soups, vegetable and red caviar, smoked sausage, cutlets, fruit.

The field marshal ate reluctantly. Moreover, he had a broken right hand that the hospital staff perceived unambiguously: the nameless patient was tortured

Spring in the monastery

The field marshal lived in a monastic cell. He was vigilantly guarded. For the Soviet command he was prisoner number one. Even then it was obvious that they wanted to play Paulus in a big political game.

The decision to abandon Nazi ideas began to mature in Paulus after the assassination attempt on Hitler. The participants in the conspiracy were brutally dealt with, among them were the field marshal’s friends. A huge achievement of Soviet intelligence was the operation to deliver Paulus a letter from his wife.

In Germany they were sure of the field marshal's death. There was even a symbolic funeral for Paulus, at which Hitler personally laid the blame empty coffin the field marshal's baton with diamonds that was not presented to the ex-commander.

A letter from his wife was the last straw that led Paulus to a very difficult decision. On August 8, 1944, he spoke on the radio broadcasting to Germany, calling on the German people to renounce the Fuhrer and save the country, for which it is necessary to immediately end the war.

Paulus at the dacha

Since 1946, Paulus lived at a dacha in Tomilino near Moscow as Stalin’s “personal guest”. Paulus was surrounded by attention, security and care. He had personal doctor, his own cook and adjutant. The field marshal, despite the honor bestowed upon him, continued to strive to return to his homeland, but by personal order of Stalin he was prohibited from leaving.

Paulus was a valuable personal trophy for Stalin. There was no way the “leader of the peoples” could lose him. In addition, releasing the field marshal was unsafe for himself: in Germany, the attitude towards him was, to put it mildly, unkind, and the death of Paulus could seriously damage the reputation of the USSR. In 1947, Paulus was treated for two months in a sanatorium in Crimea, but the field marshal was forbidden to visit his wife’s grave and communicate with his children.

Nuremberg

As they say, nothing is forgotten, nothing is forgotten: Paulus was one of those who was directly involved in the development of the Barbarossa plan. Even the inhuman Nazi criminals could not forgive Paulus’s outright betrayal.

Interrogation of F. Paulus at the Nuremberg trials.

Participation in the Nuremberg trials on the side of the Allies, in fact, saved the field marshal from time behind bars. Most German generals, despite their cooperation during the war, were still sentenced to 25 years.

Paulus, by the way, might not have made it to the courtroom. On his way to Germany, an attempt was made on his life, but the timely work of counterintelligence helped to avoid the loss of such an important witness.

Paulus at the villa

On October 23, 1953, after Stalin's death, Paulus left Moscow. Before leaving, he made a statement: “I came to you as an enemy, but I am leaving you as a friend.”

The field marshal settled in the Dresden suburb of Oberloschwitz. He was provided with a villa, servants and security, and a car. Paulus was even allowed to carry weapons.

Paulus at his villa in Dresden in 1955. Photo from the State Archives of the Federal Republic of Germany.

According to the archives of the GDR intelligence services, Friedrich Paulus led a secluded life. His favorite pastime was disassembling and cleaning his service pistol. The field marshal could not sit still: he worked as the head of the Military History Center of Dresden, and also gave lectures at the Higher School of the People's Police of the GDR.

Working on a kind attitude towards himself, in interviews he criticized West Germany, praised the socialist system and liked to repeat that “no one can defeat Russia.”

Since November 1956, Paulus did not leave the house; doctors diagnosed him with cerebral sclerosis; the field marshal became paralyzed left half bodies. On February 1, 1957, he died.

Paradoxes of history

When Paulus was captured, this became a serious bonus for the anti-Hitler coalition and for Stalin personally. They managed to “reforge” Paulus and in his homeland he was dubbed a traitor.

Hitler and Paulus.

Many in Germany still consider Paulus a traitor, which is quite natural: he surrendered and began working for the propaganda machine of the social bloc. Another striking thing: in modern Russia there is a cult of Field Marshal Paulus, in social networks- communities named after him, on forums - active discussion of the “exploits” of the Nazi general.

There are two Paulus: one is a real, fascist criminal who caused the death of millions of people, and the other is a mythological one, created by short-sighted “connoisseurs” of the German military leader.

On January 31, 1943, Friedrich Paulus was captured in Stalingrad. The day before, he was awarded the rank of field marshal. For the Soviet command, Paulus was a valuable trophy; they managed to “reforge” it and use it in the geopolitical struggle.

Paulus and the department store

By the beginning of 1943, Paulus's 6th Army was a pitiful sight. On January 8, the Soviet command addressed Paulus with an ultimatum: if the marshal did not surrender by 10 o’clock the next day, all the Germans surrounded would be destroyed. Paulus did not react to the ultimatum.

The 6th Army was crushed, Paulus lost his tanks, ammunition and fuel. By January 22, the last airfield was occupied. On January 23, with his hands raised, the commander of the 4th Army Corps, General Max Karl Pfeffer, came out of the building of the former NKVD prison; together with the remnants of his 297th division, General Moritz von Drebber surrendered; in full dress uniform, with all the regalia, the commander of the 295th division, General Otto, surrendered Corfes. Paulus's whereabouts still remained unknown, and there were rumors that he had managed to escape from the encirclement. On January 30, a radiogram was intercepted about the awarding of the rank of field marshal to Paulus. In the radiogram, Hitler unobtrusively hinted: “Not a single German field marshal has ever been captured.” Finally, intelligence reported that German orders were coming from the Central Department Store building. That's where Paulus was found. "This is the end!" - said a dirty, haggard, stubble-covered old man, in whom it was difficult to guess Friedrich Paulus.

Paulus and the hospital

Paulus had a terrible disease - rectal cancer, he was closely monitored, and he was provided with proper care. Paulus was taken to the hospital incognito. The German general was a pitiful sight: his emaciated, sallow face was always gloomy, sometimes overgrown with coarse stubble. He was prescribed a diet: soups, vegetable and red caviar, smoked sausage, cutlets, fruit. The field marshal ate reluctantly. In addition, his right arm was broken, which the hospital staff perceived unambiguously: the nameless patient was being tortured.

Living corpse

Paulus met the spring of 1943 at the Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery in Suzdal. Here he stayed for six months. After the revolution, the monastery housed military units, there was a concentration camp, and during the war it was a camp for prisoners of war. The field marshal lived in a monastic cell. He was vigilantly guarded. For the Soviet command he was prisoner number one. Even then it was obvious that they wanted to play Paulus in a big political game. The decision to abandon Nazi ideas began to mature in Paulus after the assassination attempt on Hitler. The participants in the conspiracy were brutally dealt with, among them were the field marshal’s friends. A huge achievement of Soviet intelligence was the operation to deliver Paulus a letter from his wife. In Germany they were sure of the field marshal's death. There was even a symbolic funeral for Paulus, at which Hitler personally laid a field marshal’s baton with diamonds, which had not been given to the ex-commander, on the empty coffin. A letter from his wife was the last straw that led Paulus to a very difficult decision. On August 8, 1944, he spoke on the radio broadcasting to Germany, calling on the German people to renounce the Fuhrer and save the country, for which it is necessary to immediately end the war.

Paulus and the dacha

Since 1946, Paulus lived at a dacha in Tomilino near Moscow as Stalin’s “personal guest”. Paulus was surrounded by attention, security and care. He had a personal doctor, his own cook and adjutant. The field marshal, despite the honor bestowed upon him, continued to strive to return to his homeland, but by personal order of Stalin he was prohibited from leaving. Paulus was a valuable personal trophy for Stalin. There was no way the “leader of the peoples” could lose him. In addition, releasing the field marshal was unsafe for himself: in Germany, the attitude towards him was, to put it mildly, unkind, and the death of Paulus could seriously damage the reputation of the USSR. In 1947, Paulus was treated for two months in a sanatorium in Crimea, but the field marshal was forbidden to visit his wife’s grave and communicate with his children.

Paulus and the process

Paulus was one of the main witnesses for the prosecution at the Nuremberg trials. When Paulus entered the hall as a witness, Keitel, Jodl and Goering, who were sitting in the dock, had to be calmed down. As they say, nothing is forgotten, nothing is forgotten: Paulus was one of those who was directly involved in the development of the Barbarossa plan. Even the inhuman Nazi criminals could not forgive Paulus’s outright betrayal. Participation in the Nuremberg trials on the side of the Allies, in fact, saved the field marshal from time behind bars. Most German generals, despite their cooperation during the war, were still sentenced to 25 years. Paulus, by the way, might not have made it to the courtroom. On his way to Germany, an attempt was made on his life, but the timely work of counterintelligence helped to avoid the loss of such an important witness.

Paulus and the villa

On October 23, 1953, after Stalin's death, Paulus left Moscow. Before leaving, he made a statement: “I came to you as an enemy, but I am leaving you as a friend.” The field marshal settled in the Dresden suburb of Oberloschwitz. He was provided with a villa, servants and security, and a car. Paulus was even allowed to carry weapons. According to the archives of the GDR intelligence services, Friedrich Paulus led a secluded life. His favorite pastime was disassembling and cleaning his service pistol. The field marshal could not sit still: he worked as the head of the Military History Center of Dresden, and also gave lectures at the Higher School of the People's Police of the GDR. Working on a kind attitude towards himself, in interviews he criticized West Germany, praised the socialist system and liked to repeat that “no one can defeat Russia.” Since November 1956, Paulus did not leave the house; doctors diagnosed him with cerebral sclerosis; the field marshal was paralyzed on the left side of his body. On February 1, 1957, he died.

Paulus and myth

When Paulus was captured, this became a serious bonus for the anti-Hitler coalition and for Stalin personally. They managed to “reforge” Paulus and in his homeland he was dubbed a traitor. Many in Germany still consider Paulus a traitor, which is quite natural: he surrendered and began working for the propaganda machine of the social bloc. Another thing is striking: in modern Russia there is a cult of Field Marshal Paulus, on social networks there are communities named after him, on forums there is an active discussion of the “exploits” of the Nazi general. There are two Paulus: one is a real, fascist criminal who caused the death of millions of people, and the other is a mythological one, created by short-sighted “connoisseurs” of the German military leader.

On August 8, 1944, thanks to the efforts of the Soviet intelligence services, the voice of the former commander of the Sixth Army of the Wehrmacht, Hitler's favorite, Friedrich Paulus, leaks onto the German radio airwaves, calling on the German people to lay down their arms and direct their belligerence against the Fuhrer himself.

And this despite the fact that after the defeat at Stalingrad, a year and a half earlier, a symbolic funeral of Paulus took place in Berlin, who allegedly shot himself in Stalingrad besieged by Soviet troops, but remained faithful to the oath. Then, in February 1943, Hitler himself personally laid a field marshal's baton with diamonds on Paulus' empty coffin. The Fuhrer does not even assume - Paulus, who did not die at Stalingrad, as she claimed German propaganda, but surrendered, very soon he would become almost the most ardent opponent of Nazism and even a connoisseur of the works of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin and Karl Marx.

Few people know, but Field Marshal Paulus owes his brilliant career... to his own wife. In 1909, young Friedrich graduated from the military gymnasium with honors. But the future field marshal already understood that he, the son of a simple accountant in Kaiser Germany, did not have a great future. After all, there are no military men or aristocrats in his family. And the path to privileged staff ranks is closed to him. At the same time, the prospect of possible trench life does not appeal to Paulus. And when the impressive-looking lieutenant meets the sister of his colleague, the Romanian aristocrat Elena - Constantia Roseti Solescu, it turns out that she is friends with some high-ranking staff officers. And this means that with the help of this girl you can arrange your destiny at the General Staff. He honestly admits to her about his plans on their first date. And soon, having married advantageously, the diligent, but not brilliant, lieutenant receives the adjutant's aiguelle.

Despite the fast career growth General Staff member Paulus felt inferior among his colleagues. He cannot forget his plebeian origin and therefore tries in every possible way to imitate the aristocratic manners of his wife. Because of his anglicization, the staff officers even nicknamed him Lord. Paulus also became famous for his impeccable manners among Soviet military officials, who in 1931 came to Berlin to learn from the experience of their German colleagues. Few people know about this, but Friedrich Paulus was friends with military attache Yakovenko, to whom he gave lectures on tactics, and was even a friend of the family of the Soviet ambassador!

December 18, 1940. The Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht approves the Barbarossa plan. The developer of the plan is General Friedrich Paulus. He convinces the Fuhrer that everything will take from 4 to 6 weeks.

Napoleon also planned to capture Russia at the same time. The main trump card of "Barbarossa", according to Paulus, is that Soviet troops, located 300 kilometers from their borders, are unaware of the impending blitzkrieg. At the same time, airfields and warehouses are located precisely on the western borders. This means that it will not be difficult to disable them in the very first hours of the blitzkrieg. At that time, no one at the headquarters of the German army imagined that just 2 years later the developer of the brilliant plan would come to Soviet soldiers with raised hands. Paulus, Hitler's most loyal military leader, who victoriously led his army from Paris to the Volga, will become the only Wehrmacht field marshal to surrender. And he won't commit suicide.

To captured German officers senior staff NKVD officers effectively applied the carrot policy. German generals were taken to theaters, museums, cinemas, and they were even given teachers to study the Russian language!

And the policy of the Soviet leadership bore fruit. Not even a year has passed since battle of Stalingrad, how in the Krasnogorsk prisoner of war camp a union of German officers was formed, whose task was to be anti-fascist propaganda in a new, free Germany. Amazingly, recent fascists are literally being transformed into ideologically consistent communists before our very eyes. And the most ardent of them is the last one to join the union - Friedrich Paulus. He began to successfully learn Russian, read Tolstoy, Gorky and Sholokhov in the original and became seriously interested in the works of Lenin, Marx and Stalin! And soon, accompanied by employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Paulus already appears in public places – Bolshoi Theater, the Polytechnic Museum and his favorite Lyubertsy cinema Pobeda, where he enjoys watching Soviet pre-war comedies.

But the most amazing thing is that while in captivity in a camp for German officers located in a Suzdal monastery, the former Nazi field marshal discovers his talent as an artist! As he himself admitted, he was especially inspired by Shishkin’s paintings. This is one of Paulus's drawings...

After the famous Nuremberg trials, at which Paulus acted as a witness for the prosecution, Stalin himself promised him a speedy repatriation. But the former Nazi military leader will return to his homeland, or rather to the GDR, only after the death of the leader himself - in 1953.

The attitude towards Friedrich Paulus in the GDR and West Germany remained very contradictory... Former Nazis considered him a traitor, as did the relatives of the German soldiers who died at Stalingrad. But many Germans were convinced: by surrendering and then calling on the Germans loyal to the Fuhrer, Paulus may have helped avoid even greater casualties. And on both sides...